Sunday, 19 January 2014

Chascomus

Needing a little break from the city before New Year, Nick and I booked a few days in Chascomus. A small town two hours South of Buenos Aires. Every time we told anyone that's where we were going they would say 'why?' Apparently only Argentine tourists go there, so much so that it was pretty impossible to find details of accommodation in English.

We ended up staying at Hostel Chascomus, and I'm so happy we did. It's run by a man with a booming voice who is obviously a little boy trapped in an overweight man's body called Cecal. He was so friendly and helpful, and had lived in Busan previously too!

Chascomus is known as it has a big lagoon, surrounded by estaciones, big farms where horses and cows roam grassy fields. Argentina has a large culture of cowboys and this little town is an example of it. Not only with the surrounding farms, but everyone seems to know everyone in the little town, old people sit outside their doors eager to talk to passers by and around noon everything shuts down, avoiding the afternoon sun like a showdown.
We watched the sun set over the lagoon our first night. The following morning we hired bikes and cycled the whole 33km around the lagoon. It was so hot, but nice to stop every now and then to get a drink and talk to the locals.
In the evening, Cecal recommended a friend's restaurant, and strangely another of his friends offered to drive us. The restaurant was an old club house and was amazing. I felt like we were on the set of a period drama, the room had high ceilings, wooden floors, a big piano and chandeliers. Even better was that we were completely alone in the room! The food was delicious and we got a 'friends of Cecal' discount.
The next day we relaxed around the lagoon where Nick tried to teach me to juggle and we got tricked by a man with lots of birds, who put them on us and the charged us!
We headed back to Buenos Aires on New Years Eve ready to see in 2014. I really enjoyed our stay in chascomus, I wouldn't recommend it to people who are looking to meet other travellers, but it's a nice place to relax, practise Spanish as very few people speak it there, and get a taste of the gaucho culture. Follow me...